{
  "id": 191765,
  "title": "PHALA PHALA SAGA: Impeachment committee agrees that Ramaphosa should testify",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/08/05/phala-phala-saga-impeachment-committee-agrees-that-ramaphosa-should",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-08-05T21:38:47.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Daily Maverick",
    "slug": "daily-maverick",
    "url": "https://www.dailymaverick.co.za/article/2026-08-05-impeachment-committee-agrees-that-ramaphosa-should-testify/"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Parliament's impeachment committee unanimously agreed on Wednesday that President Cyril Ramaphosa should be called to testify in the ongoing impeachment proceedings. This decision comes as part of the preparatory work for the committee, which has been divided on who should serve as the evidence leader. The choice ultimately fell on advocates Kate Hofmeyr and Thandazani Madonsela, with a 9-7 vote in favor of Madonsela.\n\nANC MPs abstained from the vote, alongside the Patriotic Alliance and Al Jama'ah. The ANC's decision to abstain was rooted in its desire to avoid accusations of double standards, as an ANC study group had previously received a legal opinion from Madonsela. Previously, the ANC had opposed advocating Vuyani Ngalwana's nomination due to an opinion critical of President Ramaphosa and criticized him for bias. Despite multiple calls from ANC MP Cameron Dugmore to exclude Ngalwana, his proposal fell flat as other parties objected to the treatment of the advocate.\n\nParliamentary lawyer Sueanne Isaac clarified with MPs that Madonsela had been briefed by \"a firm of attorneys representing a study group,\" but his role was minimal and limited to overseeing a junior attorney before the brief ended on July 5, 2026. The decision to call Ramaphosa to testify means that the draft terms of reference will drop the ifs and mays from the section on the President's testimony. However, tensions arose over whether the standard of proof should be beyond reasonable doubt or on a balance of probability. Parliamentary legal opinion recommended a standard of \"cogent, reliable and persuasive evidence sufficient to satisfy constitutional requirements of legality, rationality and procedural fairness.\"",
  "summary": "Amid ongoing litigation in President Cyril Ramaphosa’s impeachment proceedings, MPs on Wednesday agreed he would be called to testify. That decision is part of the preparatory work Parliament’s impeachment committee can still do after Ramaphosa obtained an interdict against ‘public impeachment hearings’.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}